{"474391":{"#nid":"474391","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Autonomous Machines are On Their Own","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs a team of unmanned quadrotor aircraft hovers above, six small ground robots roll into an unfamiliar two-story structure. Soon, the rotorcraft are darting about mapping the upper floor, while the ground vehicles chart the lower floor, process both teams\u2019 data, and produce a full building plan for computers outside.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENotably absent are human beings and radio control devices. This little squadron is fully autonomous.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn robotics, autonomy involves enabling unmanned vehicles to perform complex, unpredictable tasks without human guidance. Today, in the early stages of the robotics revolution, it\u2019s among the most critical areas of research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe move to true autonomy has become highly important, and progress toward that goal is happening with increasing speed,\u201d said Henrik Christensen, executive director of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM) at Georgia Tech and a collaborator on the mapping experiment. \u201cIt won\u2019t happen overnight, but the day is coming when you will simply say to a swarm of robots, \u2018Okay, go and perform this mission.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETraditionally, robotic devices have been pre-programmed to perform a set task: Think of the factory robot arm that automatically performs a repetitive function like welding. But an autonomous vehicle must be fully independent, moving \u2014 without human intervention \u2014 in the air, on the ground, or in the water. Well-known examples include the prototype self-driving vehicles currently being tested in some U.S. cities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.rh.gatech.edu\/features\/their-own\u0022\u003ELink to full article\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAs a team of unmanned quadrotor aircraft hovers above, six small ground robots roll into an unfamiliar two-story structure. Soon, the rotorcraft are darting about mapping the upper floor, while the ground vehicles chart the lower floor, process both teams\u2019 data, and produce a full building plan for computers outside.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech innovations are making unmanned aircraft, boats and submersibles smarter and more capable."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2015-12-01 11:06:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:08","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-12-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"474401":{"id":"474401","type":"image","title":"Icefin Submersible","body":null,"created":"1449257202","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:26:42","changed":"1475895225","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:45","alt":"Icefin Submersible","file":{"fid":"99193","name":"icefin-horizontal.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/icefin-horizontal_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/icefin-horizontal_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2338498,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/icefin-horizontal_0.jpg?itok=pmLLHU8J"}},"474411":{"id":"474411","type":"image","title":"Autonomous blimps","body":null,"created":"1449257202","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:26:42","changed":"1475895225","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:45","alt":"Autonomous blimps","file":{"fid":"99194","name":"blimp.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blimp_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/blimp_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":972817,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/blimp_1.jpg?itok=XMGZPvp7"}}},"media_ids":["474401","474411"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"6503","name":"automation"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71881","name":"Science and Technology"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}